Pine Retreat, Lake Tahoe

One material, handled three ways

The clients owned a draughty 1970s cabin and a stand of pines they loved. We kept the footprint, kept every mature tree and rebuilt in timber: charred cladding outside, oiled boards inside, exposed frame between. The west wall is almost entirely glass, shuttered by deep fins that cut glare and hold snow.

A single wood stove heats the open ground floor; bedrooms sleep cool under a super-insulated roof. The whole house runs on one palette — timber, wool, stone — so repairs mean oil and soap, not catalogues.